Biden Administration Plans for Police Reform

Prior to and during the 2020 presidential campaign, one of the most contentious issues in the country has been around policing and law enforcement. Given so much national attention on these topics, it is one of the core pillars that President-elect Biden plans on addressing in office. Although Biden’s platform on criminal justice was not as progressive or detailed as some other democratic candidates, he has quietly ran and been elected on one of the most progressive platforms of a major party candidate, which aligns with the overall viewpoint of the democratic party as a whole.

As part of his plan to advance racial equity, Biden will work with Congress to pass police reform legislation, which will include:

• A nationwide ban on chokeholds
• Stopping the transfer of weapons of war to police forces
• Improving oversight and accountability to create a model use of force standard
• Creating a national police oversight commission

Additionally, one main element of Biden’s plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice is to expand and use the power of the U.S. Justice Department to address misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices. This will include using the Justice Department’s authority to “root out unconstitutional or unlawful policing.” Biden plans to revamp the federal “pattern and practice” investigations into police departments to root out systemic misconduct and biases. These investigations often lead to consent decrees, a court-enforced agreement between the Justice Department and law enforcement agencies to implement specific reforms. The plan will also encourage states to collect and use sufficient data to make evidence-based policies and understand and address biases in criminal justice.

Biden’s platform is in favor of police reform, but not fully defunding the police. He has said, however, that federal dollars should not go to police departments that are violating people’s rights or turning to violence at first resort. With more funding, “every single police department should have the money they need to institute real reforms like adopting a national use of force standard, buying body cameras, and recruiting more diverse police officers." Biden has already made known a few specifics, including a $300 million investment for community policing. He also proposed pairing police with social workers and experts on mental health, substance abuse, and disability. With shifting approaches to policing, local police departments or governments may seek to bring on educators or new training programs, conduct department cultural assessments and evaluations, and add more health professionals in the law enforcement space.